I'm new at blogs..not sure if this is where I post my need for help, but here goes: Hello. Thank you for your time. Before I ask too many details about the help I need, I'd like to know this blog is being watched by whoever started it. I see some blogs who last had comments several years ago. Are you still answering questions for people who need help concerning their 2001 Prius and transmission problems? Briefly...I recently had an unfortunate thing happen with ours..it upset me quite a bit considering what a great car it has been. I took off slowly..which is normal for me... from a stop sign in my neighborhood. But, because of the way the road dipped for rain runoff....even though I had only traveled about 30 feet to the other side of the intersection...the front end of my car dipped down and the front of the undercarriage obviously hit the street and made quite a jolt. I did not not think it had hurt anything.....but it was the lip of a manhole cover that was hit by the bottom of my car. Yes...it was a weird place for the city to have one. As it turned out...I continued to drive the car because everything seemed fine. The next day, after driving the car probably about 20 miles of city traffic since I hit bottom the day before...and returning home to my driveway... I noticed a fluid ''trail''...and figured out to my horror that it was from my car. I then looked as best I could under the car...not easy since it is so low to the ground...but I did see that a pan for the transmission got smashed and was leaking. They never clarified to me if it was a transmission fluid pan or a transaxle coolant pan. All I know is that at the time I discovered the leak..the car was driving normal..even though it had been driven about 20 miles with a significant leak. I had had zero driving issues up to then. I drove and the transmission shifted normal. It was only because I saw the fluid trail that I became aware of what had happened. I was hopeful It would be OK once repaired. Obviously...once I saw the leak I stopped all driving and had it towed to a local shop...a shop I thought was a good one..but it was not a Toyota only shop. Thus I asked if they were familiar with working on a Prius. They assured me they were. I even let them know it used a Toyota specific transmission/transaxle fluid (WS)...and it used a separate coolant just for the transaxle. Of course..they did act a little insulted that I was suggesting they did not know that. Frankly...I may have falsely assumed that since a Prius has been around for a while now...that working on them was something most mechanics knew how to do. Now...I am not so sure I should not have taken it to a Toyota dealer. They replaced the damaged pan and it was a low cost repair. They said their test drive indicated it seemed OK. But now that it has been over a week....the transmission is acting like it is slipping. I know that is not supposed to be possible on a CVT...but I also know what a slipping transmission or clutch feels like...and the care most definitely acts like that is what's happening. It was not like this before the repair. It does it the worse when it is first going...but seems to do OK as I drive it more. I live in Florida , so it is hard to say it does it ''when it is cold''..because it is not cold here, lol. But it is pretty noticeable. It is particularly difficult to accelerate to get on the Interstate...but it can be done...and once up to speed...does fine. I have to ''baby''the accelerator to keeping the slipping at a minimum until I reach my speed...but once at my speed..it does OK. And..as I said..as I drive it more..it seems to be more normal. But something is not right. Is it possible this could be cause if they put normal transmission fluid in it instead of the Toyota Prius WS kind? I'm wondering if they were truthful to me on what kind they put in. Yes...i said it was the coolant pan that got torn up on the bottom of the car....but I am not sure that is what it was...could have been a transmission pan....but I did not think the Prius had one. At leas that is what they told me. I'm not positive they knew the difference for a Prius. All I know is a lot of the cost of the repair was for the fluid. They simply welded the hole in the pan to fix it...so that saved me the cost of a new one. Is it possible they did not fill it full? That is sort of how it acts...like a car that is low on transmission fluid. I'm more worried they put the wrong fluid in...because to fill it..you simply have to fill it till it comes out the filler hole....so it's hard for me to imagine they did not fill it...but what if it is the wrong fluid? "OR''..is my transmission damaged from me driving it the 20 miles..and it took a few days for the damage to show?
Welcome. Your post is nearly impossible to read on a computer. On a phone, most people won't even bother due to the extreme length. Please insert paragraphs to group thoughts. Start by giving us some perspective... How many miles are on the car and how much are you willing to spend?
In a way you are kind of lucky, because the Gen 1 Prius does have a replaceable transaxle oil pan, which later generations do not. Even if you had chosen to buy a new pan from Toyota instead of welding the damaged one, it would only be about $62. Assuming the pan is all that was damaged, that is transmission oil you were leaking, not coolant. It can be a little confusing because both are red. If you have any doubt of what the shop did, there are two things you can check. One is easy. Take the lid off the hybrid system coolant reservoir (the small white tank about amidships in the engine compartment next to the big shiny "Toyota Hybrid System" cover. The fluid in there should be red, watery (not oily, and not separating like a layered drink, and with no froth or foam in it), and should be between the min and max lines. The other thing you can check is the transmission oil, but that will take a 24 mm socket and you'll have to work from the ground looking up (after removing the big plastic undershrouds that go under the engine and transmission). Don't fuss with the transmission drain plugs (they're both on the bottom, one for oil and one for coolant, the one for oil is part of that steel pan, the one for coolant is next to it but goes straight into the transaxle case). Leave those alone. Look for the transaxle oil fill plug. It's another 24 mm plug, facing forward on the transaxle, just about straight up from where the drain plug is. As it happens, when the car is level, the correct transaxle oil level is just coming to the bottom of that fill hole, so once you take the fill plug out, you should find oil right up to that level. It should be red (again!), but this stuff is oily, not watery, and should also have no separation or foaming. Kind of a clear ruby jewel color. If it isn't right up to the bottom of the fill hole, you can use a short hose and a funnel and pour in some Toyota T-IV until it is. So maybe before you check, you'd want to pick up a quart or two of T-IV, a funnel and short hose, and a new crush washer for the fill plug. If you have any doubt that Toyota T-IV is what the shop put in (did they show you the bottles?), you might also consider draining it completely, and refilling it with known T-IV. For that, you would need another crush washer for the drain plug too (they're the same), and you would need to buy 5 quarts of T-IV (though filling the transaxle should only use 4.9). As for "slipping", a Prius transaxle really has nearly nothing to "slip". The fluid is not used to carry power, as you might be used to in other automatics. Usually, when a Prius feels like it is "slipping", it is because the car's computer is holding back the electric assist for some reason (and it is possible that transaxle damage could be such a reason, but we won't go there unless the evidence does). To get a better handle on what is going on, it's necessary to use a tool that can monitor the computer's choices in managing power, and also read out any diagnostic codes it might be giving. A tool called Mini VCI is what a lot of people use who participate in this forum. It's quite inexpensive (assuming you have a Windows laptop to plug it into). The only sort of actual "slipping" that could ever happen in a Prius transaxle is in the torque limiter between the transaxle and engine. That looks a lot like a manual transmission clutch, only without any mechanism to ever release it. It could only slip if it gets extremely worn, or if it gets oily. I am not guessing either of those things will have happened (damage would have to be pretty severe to get oil to that area, and your description didn't seem that severe). Also, with any prolonged slippage there, I am sure you would smell it; if you've ever smelled scorched brakes or clutch, it would be like that. Hope this helps, -Chap
